Planning Poker is a widely used Agile estimation technique that involves team members assigning relative effort points to user stories. Each team member receives a deck of cards, typically featuring numbers from the Fibonacci sequence or other numeric scales. The Product Owner or Scrum Master presents a user story, and each team member selects a card representing their estimate. The team discusses their estimates, aiming for consensus. In case of significant discrepancies, the team engages in further discussion to align their understanding. Planning Poker encourages collaboration, facilitates discussion, and ensures that everyone’s perspective is considered.

T-Shirt Sizes estimation technique is a simple and intuitive approach that uses relative sizing. Each user story is assigned a size, represented by t-shirt sizes like XS, S, M, L, or XL. The team compares user stories against each other and collectively determines their relative sizes. T-Shirt Sizes estimation is quick and easy, providing a high-level overview of effort without going into detailed complexity analysis. This technique is particularly useful during initial high-level estimation or backlog grooming sessions.

The Bucket System estimation technique involves categorizing user stories into predefined buckets based on their effort or complexity. For example, buckets can be labeled as “Small,” “Medium,” “Large,” or “Extra Large.” The team collectively determines which bucket each user story belongs to, based on their understanding of the work involved. This technique allows teams to quickly group user stories into different levels of effort, enabling high-level planning and prioritization.

Dot Voting is a collaborative Agile estimation technique that helps teams reach a consensus on effort or priority. The team is presented with a list of user stories or tasks, and each team member is given a certain number of dots or votes. Team members independently distribute their votes among the items, indicating their perceived effort or priority. The team then visually identifies the items with the highest number of votes, indicating a shared understanding. Dot Voting encourages active participation, ensures equal input from all team members, and facilitates decision-making.

Comparative Estimation, also known as the “Affinity Estimation” technique, involves comparing user stories or tasks against each other. The team takes a few representative user stories and establishes a baseline, defining their effort or complexity as a reference point. Then, the team compares other user stories against the baseline, assigning relative effort points based on how they relate to the reference stories. This technique helps in quickly estimating the effort required for new user stories by leveraging past experience and existing knowledge.